Gunman opens fire at luxury Spanish hotel in tourist capital

Several people are injured from the shooting in Barcelona city centre

A MASKED gunman opened fire in a luxury hotel in Barcelona city centre, bringing panic to tourists.

The attacker targeted the pair as they sat outside the four-star Hotel Silken Ramblas.

Seeing what was unfolding in front of them, the two victims fled through the hotel reception in front of shocked tourists in a desparate bid to reach a street on the other side.

One smashed through the glass front of the hotel as he ran for cover. The second victim was shot in the side.

Both are being treated in hospital.

The gunman was at large this afternoon, and was thought to have been wearing a green military-style Balaclava.

Police ruled out a terrorist attack. They are investigating whether the two men, initially believed to have been foreign tourists, were deliberately targeted.

 

Violence erupted at about 3pm this afternoon in front of hundreds of holidaymakers drinking at outside cafes in the city’s famous Rambla boulevard.

A spokesman for the regional Mosses dEsquadra police force said: “The two people targeted by the gunman were not hotel guests and were near and not inside the hotel when they were attacked.

 

“They ran across the hotel which lies between two streets to get away from the gunman.

“One was shot and the other suffered injuries from falling glass after crashing into a window pane as he ran.

“They were located by police and taken to hospital. A hunt is underway for the gunman.”

 

Police are now hunting one of the gunmen across Barcelona

Bullet holes show where the gunman shot through glass

Spanish policemen guard the Silken Hotel

An investigator policeman gathers evidence at the Silken Hotel